Snowed In
by Brennason
Summary: What happens when Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu get snowed in at Pallet Town over Christmas? AAML
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I know this first chapter is very short, and i apologize for that. But it's just a started. I promise all proceeding chapters will be at least twice as long. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, unfortunately.**

Ash, Brock, Misty, and Pikachu were on their way to Pallet town. It had started snowing an hour ago, and the foursome was ready to reach Ash's house, where Delia Ketchum was waiting for them; hopefully with some hot chocolate. When Ash reached the top of the hill overlooking his hometown, he stopped and looked back at his friends. Brock looked happy that they had finally reached their destination, but Misty was shivering, and looked miserable.

"You okay, Misty?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling at him, "it's just a little cold." Ash looked over Misty, and then realized that she had been walking through snow for the past hour in nothing but her short shorts and flimsy yellow shirt.

"Here Mist, take my jacket." he said, carefully draping it around her shoulders and pulling it closed in the front. "Warmer?" Misty smiled that beautiful smile of hers back at him, and he felt a little bit warmer. The she blushed and looked away.

"Yeah, thanks Ash." she said softly, and they continued their walk down into Pallet Town.

By the time they arrived at Ash's front door, the wind had picked up and the snow was falling much harder than before. They all hurried into the house, and no sooner had they stepped inside then Delia Ketchum swooped down on Ash.

"Oh! Ashy! I'm so glad you're home for Christmas!" she yelled, while practically suffocating her son with a hug. When she had gotten her fill of that, she turned to Brock and Misty and pulled the two of them into a hug as well. "Merry Christmas, you two!"

Misty and Brock both grinned at the woman who was as good as their mother. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Ketchum." they both replied.

"Now, I bet you're all very cold, so I some hot chocolate and cookies for you to eat when you got here!" At this, Ash sprinted into the kitchen, with a laughing Brock and Misty close behind.

"Ash!" panted Brock as he raced to the kitchen, "Leave some food for us!"

"We'll see!" yelled Ash, laughing, Pikachu hanging onto his hood.

After they'd all had their share of cookies (and Ash much more than his share), the group retired to the living room, where they sat in front of the fireplace and drank their hot cocoa. Ash's mom wanted to know all about the adventures they had been having, and they talked for several hours, until Brock looked over at Ash and chuckled. Misty had drifted off, and her head was resting on Ash's shoulder, which Ash looked perfectly happy about.

"You and Misty sure look cute together, Ash." said Brock, smirking. Ash blushed wildly at this.

"Hey, _she_fell asleep on _me_." he replied, defensively.  
>Delia Ketchum just smiled at her son. "Honey, why don't you wake Misty up and show her where she's sleeping? She's obviously exhausted." Ash debated this for a second, not really wanting to make Misty up. Instead he moved as carefully as possible, picked her up, and carried her up the stairs. When he got to her room, he placed Misty on the bed and covered her with a warm blanket. She's so beautiful, Ash thought. Before he left the room, he bent down and softly kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Misty."<p>

Back downstairs, Brock and Delia were laughing together about the scene they had just witnessed . It was obvious that Ash and Misty loved each other. Everyone seemed to see it but them.

"Even Team Rocket - knows! They tease them - about it sometimes, "choked out Brock between peals of laughter, "which is kind of - a waste of time when they're trying - to steal our Pokemon, but - it's so funny." At this point Delia was holding her sides, she was laughing so hard. Neither she nor Brock noticed when Ash started coming down the stairs. He walked into the living room and looked at them questioningly.

"What's so funny?" he asked, a bit nervous to hear the answer. Delia and Brock both jumped, not even having realized he was in the room before, and then stopped laughing immediately.  
>"Nothing, dear." answered Mrs. Ketchum quickly. She didn't want her son to know that they were talking about his love for Misty behind his back. "Just a few stories Brock has been telling me."<p>

"Oh. Okay." said Ash, not even suspecting a lie. "Well, I just came down to tell you that I think I'm gonna go to sleep now too. I'm pretty tired. What about you, Pikachu?"

"Pikapi!" the little guy yelled, and jumped up onto Ash's shoulder.

"Goodnight sweetie." said Delia.

"Night Ash." added Brock.

"Goodnights, guys." Ash said, yawning, as he walked back up the stairs. After he had walked all the way up, Brock turned back to Delia.  
>"He just wanted to be closer to Misty." he said, an evil look on his face, and the two of them burst out laughing once more.<p> 


	2. Two Peas

"Hey you's two, when are we gonna find some food around here?" whined Meowth as he walked down the road with his other Team Rocket members.  
>"Stop complaining, Meowth!' yelled Jessie angrily. "We're all hungry!"<br>"Yes Meowth, and you talking about food is only making me more hungry." added James. The entire group trudged slowly down the road through the swiftly falling snow, hoping that they would soon reach a town where they could stuff themselves to their heart's content.  
>"I know, I know," replied Meowth, "but I just can't stop tinking about food. Smoked Christmas ham, sweet gingerbread cookies, minty candy canes!"<br>"I said SHUT UP!" screamed Jessie, grabbing Meowth in a choke hold.  
>"Jess! Jess! Let me go!" This only caused Jessie to squeeze him harder, and Meowth looked around wildly to find some means of escape.<br>"Jessie! Look! There's a town up there!" James yelled, oblivious to the fact that his partner was about to murder Meowth.  
>"A town? Where?" Jessie dropped Meowth and spun around to see the lights of pallet Town shining through the snow. "Oh thank god, we won't starve to death out here!" she yelled, and started sprinting towards the valley of Ash's hometown. On their way down the hill Meowth spotted a sign reading "Pallet Town".<br>"Hm. Pallet Town. That name sounds awfully familiar..." (A/N: I'm sorry if I am horrible at writing Meowth's voice...)

-

The next morning when Ash awoke, Pikachu was not sleeping next to him. In fact, it wasn't in his room at all. He yawned and stretched and slowly got out of bed. He walked over to Misty's room and looked inside to see Pikachu snuggled up next to his best (human) friend. He chuckled and walked over to the two of them.  
>"Pikachu, I'm hurt. You didn't want to sleep with me?"<br>"Pika pichu! (You were talking in your sleep!)"  
>"Really? what was I saying?"<br>"Pika!" Pikachu said, pointing at Misty. Ash blushed a deep red, and glared at Pikachu. At the mention of her name from from Pikachu, she stirred in her sleep.  
>"Ash?" she said, in a voice that was only half awake.<br>"Morning, Mist."  
>"Morning, Ash." Misty said, and rolled over in her bed. Then she opened her eyes, looked at him, and smiled.<br>"Nice bedhead, Misty." Ash teased her and smirked. Misty grabbed a pillow off of the other side of the bed and smacked Ash with it as hard as he could, and he fell onto the floor in a crumpled heap.  
>"Hey, what was that for?" he whined.<br>"For making fun of my hair! Now get out, I have to change." Ash stuck his tongue out at Misty as he left the room, causing her to hurl the pillow at his head. Ash quickly ducked out of the room and the pillow hit the door.  
>'How did I even get in this bed?' Misty wondered, as she walked around her room and gathered her red suspenders and hair tie. 'And how did these get off of me?' She was still in her clothes from yesterday, so it only took her a moment to get ready and head downstairs. She walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table in between Brock and Ash.<br>"Good morning sleepy head." Delia Ketchum sung as she placed a plate of pancakes in front of Misty. When the smell of sugary syrup hit her, Misty instantly realized that she was starving, and began to scarf down her breakfast.  
>"Jeez Misty, I don't know how you stay so scrawny when you eat like that!" Ash yelled after she had cleared her plate of the five large pancakes.<br>"I may be scrawny but at least I'm not short!' Misty yelled back at him.  
>"Now, now, you two, don't fight." warned Delia. "And Ash, never mention how much a womann eats. it's rude."<br>"She called me short!"  
>"He started it!"<br>"Did not!"  
>"Did too!"<br>"Did not!"  
>Did-"<br>"Stop it!" inserted Brock. "You two are driving me crazy! You never stop fighting!"  
>"It's adorable." cooed Delia.<br>Trying to change the subject, Misty quickly asked "So how did I get into that bed last night?' Obviously, she had asked exactly the wrong question. Ash's face burned a bright tomato red when Brock answered, "That would be Ash's doing." And then Misty joined Ash is the battle for the reddest face.  
>'So Ash took my suspenders off an put my hair down for me?' Misty thought, blushing even harder when she looked over at Ash, who was thinking the exact same thing. (AN: A lot of blushing, I know, I'm sorry. I like awkward situations.)  
>"Th-thanks Ash." She stuttered, trying not to make eye contact with him again.<br>"So Misty," Brock began, will you be ready to leave by about noon to head back towards Cerulean and Pewter?"  
>"Oh, you two were planning on leaving today?" Mrs. Ketchum asked. The nodded their heads yes and she looked at them apologetically. "Well, I'm sorry, but all the roads out of Pallet Town are closed. 6 feet more feet of snow fell last night, didn't you hear the storm?I suppose you three were all too tired from walking all day to get here, but the wind was howling all night and it was snowing like crazy. It's actually still snowing right now. We're snowed in."<p>

-

Jessie awoke the next morning on a couch in the Pokemon Center. Thinking that she was in a spacious bed, she stretched out her limbs and rolled over onto her side. Unfortunately for her, the couch did not extend that far, and she rolled off the side of the couch and onto a sleeping James.  
>"Wah! Jessie! Geroff me!"<br>"James- James get away from me!"  
>"You fell on top of me!"<br>"What are you two morons screamin about this oiwly in the mornin?  
>"James attacked me!" shrieked Jessie.<br>"_You_fell on _me._" James clarified again.  
>"Whatever," Jessie said grumpily, "I'm going outside to find an open restaurant for some breakfast." She stomped over to the door and tried to push it open, to no avail.<br>"James, Meowth, the door's stuck. Come and help me open it." she demanded. The boys (or boy and Pokemon) rushed to her side, afraid of what would happen if they made her angry again this early in the morning. The three of them pushed as hard as they could on the door, and managed to open it a tiny bit. They looked through the small crack and saw nothing but white.  
>"Brrrr." Meowth said, shivering. "There's no way we're gettin through that door. There's an entire wall of snow out there!"<br>"So you mean-" James started.  
>Jessie shrieked. "We're snowed in?"<p>

-

Misty's eyes began to pool with tears. 'But- but I haven't seen my sisters in more than a year. And it's the day before Christmas Eve! I've got to get home! I'm supposed to be with family! Sure they're annoying, and controlling, and never stop calling me Runt, but I love them."  
>"I know how you feel." added Brock. "My family can drive me nuts. there are 11 of them! But I love being with them. Even when they spill their food or rip their clothes or cry because someone isn't sharing."<br>"Of course this happens! Of course I get stuck here!" Misty yelled.  
>"Hey, it's not all bad," Ash teased, "You get to be with me." Misty glared at him, not at all amused. "Yeah, great." she replied sarcastically. "Just what I want, stuck with you over Christmas."<br>"You should feel sorry for me!" exclaimed Brock. "I have to be stuck with both of you!"  
>"Hey1 You should be honored to spend Christmas with Ash Ketchum, future Pokemon Master!" Ash said, trying to defend himself.<br>"And me, Misty Waterflower, Water Pokemon Master!"  
>"Well aren't you just two peas in a pod." Delia said, very entertained by her son's and Misty's antics.<br>"That's us!" Ash declared, slinging his arm around Misty's shoulders. "Now," he turned to Misty, "let's go find something to do, Pea Number 2."  
>'I'm Pea Number 1. You're number 2."<br>"Nuh-uh! you followed me when we were ten!"  
>"Yeah, but I'm older."<br>"By 4 months!"  
>"Still older!"<br>"That doesn't count."  
>"Does not."<br>"Does too."  
>"Does <em>not!<em>_"_  
>"Does <em>too!<em>_"_  
>Brock looked at Ash's mom and sighed. "This is going to be a long Christmas."<p> 


	3. Snowgasbord

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! I was super busy the past few weeks. Enjoy!**

After hearing that she wouldn't be able to make it home for Christmas, Misty had been sulking around the Ketchum home for a few hours. Ash had been trying everything to make her feel better: telling her jokes, playing with the Pokemon, offering her ham, cookies, and hot chocolate (which, after Misty refused, Ash ate). But no matter what he did, it just didn't work.  
>"Pika, pi chu." Pikachu piped up. (She must really miss her sisters.)<br>"I know she does," Ash sighed, "But there's nothing we can do. Six feet of snow is too much for any Pokemon to get through!"  
>"Pi pika pi!" (I'll do it! For Misty!)<br>"I know you would, Pikachu, but we'd never make it. We'll just have to think of another way to cheer her up."  
>"Pi..." Pikachu said, thinking hard about the problem.<br>"I know!" Ash yelled suddenly, scaring Pikachu and causing him to fall on the floor. "We have to see Professor Oak!" Ash ran to the videophone in his living room and called the Professor's lab. Considering how close it was to their house, he normally would have just walked over, but the front door to their home could hardly be opened right now, the snow was so thick outside.  
>"Hello, Ash." said Professor Oak happily when he answered the videophone. "How have you been? I'm sorry I couldn't come see you when you got home. Things are pretty busy here, and then the snowstorm-"<br>"It's okay Professor, I'll come visit the lab as soon as the snow goes down a little. But I have to talk to you about something important. You have to help me figure out a way to get to Cerulean City."

Misty paced back in forth in her room, tearing up every once in a while when she thought that she wouldn't be able to see her family at all on Christmas. Her sisters may tease her sometimes, but because it was just them and her on Christmas, with no parents, they had always tried to make the day special for her. She layed down across her bed and thought about some of the best years they had had together. Cutting down their Christmas tree, decorating while listening to music and drinking hot cocoa made by Lily (the only thing she knew how to make).  
>She sighed, then pushed herself off up the bed. 'I'll try to do something to take my mind off of it.' she thought to herself. 'I'm sure Mrs. Ketchum needs some help getting ready for tonight.' She walked down the stairs and knocked on the door to Delia's bedroom. "Mrs. Ketchum?"<br>"Misty, come in, come in!" Delia yelled through the door. Misty walked inside and sat down next to Delia, who was carefully wrapping a Pokeball ornament in green paper.  
>"Do you need any help?" Misty asked politely.<br>"Yes, dear, it would be lovely if you could wrap one of the presents for Ash over there. Just don't look in the red bag. those ones are yours."  
>"Oh, you didn't need to get me anything."<br>"Misty, of course I did. After all, you're practically family."  
>Misty felt a rush of happiness at that statement. Ash's mother always made her feel so welcomed and happy.<br>"Thank you." she said, a large smile now covering her face. She grabbed one of Ash's presents out of the bag closest to her and looked at it. It was a package of underwear. each pair had a pattern of a different kind of Pokemon on it. Misty blushed, and Delia looked over to see what she was holding.  
>"Oh, dear, give those to me. you can wrap something else." Misty handed the underwear over to her and then searched around in the bag for something else. As she was wrapping a new jacket for Ash, she realized something.<br>"I don't have a present for Ash!" she cried. "I bought something for Brock in the last town, but I couldn't find anything special enough- I mean anything that really fit Ash."  
>"I'm sure it's fine. Ash doesn't really need anything. Anyway, you being here is probably a present enough for him."<br>Misty's face burned at this statement. 'What do you mean?" she said, feigning innocence.  
>"Oh please," Delia said, quite amused by the tomato-red Misty's face had turned. "don't pretend like there isn't something between the two of you."<br>"I have no idea what you're talking about." Misty said. "Ash and I are only friends."  
>"Well then, you better find something to give him, shouldn't you?" Delia teased. Misty humphed and then turned back to her wrapping.<p>

After his talk with Professor Oak, Ash was just as stumped. Neither of them could think of any way to get through the ice and snow to Cerulean City. He sat down on the couch to think, when Misty came into the room.  
>"Hey Mist." Ash said in a slightly dejected tone.<br>"Hey Ash. Is something wrong?"  
>"No, everything's fine. I'm just... tired." He faked a yawn to prove his point.<br>"Oh. Well hey, thanks for last night." Mosty said awkwardly. "I mean- for- making sure I was comfortable and all."  
>Ash blushed as he thought about putting Misty in her bed last night. He had removed her hairband and suspenders for her so she would sleep better. That and- her hair was so pretty when it was down. "No- no problem."<br>"Hey Ash?"  
>"Yeah?"<br>"Even though I wish I was with my family, if I had to be trapped anywhere, I'm glad it's here. With you."  
>Ash smiled at this, and looked at his friend. "I'm glad you're here too."<p>

Jessie was angry. It was obvious. And it was for this reason that James and Meowth were currently hiding behind the sofa.  
>"How are we supposed to get food? This Pokemon Center is shut down for Christmas!"<br>"Jessie, I'm sure we'll find something. Maybe there's extra food in the kitchen or something." James assured her.  
>"There better be. Or you two morons are going to pay."<br>"Hey! It's not our fault it snowed so much ova night! In fact, it's you's fault for leading us to this Pokemon Center! We could have payed to stay in that Bed and Breakfast!" Meowth cried in outrage.  
>"Well when you find some money to stay at nice places like that, you can tell me."<br>"I have an idea!" James yelled. "Jessie, why don't you make a snowgasbord like your mom used to?"  
>Jessie brightened up at his suggestion.<br>"Oh, snowgasbord." She said in a dreamy voice.  
>While Jessie was distracted, James and Meowth snuck off to the kitchen to find some real food. They yanked open the doors of the big refrigerator, only to find that it was empty, aside from one small bowl of pasta. Both of them grabbed as many noodles as they could and shoved them in their mouth. The bowl was soon empty and both boys sighed and leaned back against the counters across from the fridge.<br>"Now what can we eat?" James whined.  
>"The Snowgasbord is ready!" they heard Jessie sing from the other room.<br>At this, Meowth frowned and James looked a little scared. "Oh dear Mew..."

**A/N: So I'll try to have the next chapter up tomorrow on Christmas. **


	4. Chapter 4

That night it seemed like Misty's mood had finally been made better. Ash was extremely happy to see her sitting relaxed next to the fire, holding a steaming cup of cocoa. She was laughing at Brock's story about his last encounter with a Nurse Joy, which he had botched, as usual. Ash smiled at his friends and sat down next to Misty.

"Hey, so I see you're feeling better."

"Yeah," Misty replied in a contented tone, "I guess the Christmas spirit is getting to me." Surrounded by his friends and family on Christmas Eve, Ash felt as if everything was perfect. He put his arm behind Misty on the fireplace, aching to move it closer, around her shoulders, but too afraid of making his... crush too obvious.

Misty smiled and scooted over closer to Ash, glad to have him near her. If she couldn't be with her sisters, at least she got to be with him. And anyway, what girl doesn't want to spend Christmas with the guy she likes? She should be ecstatic. Unfortunately, she had never decided what to give him as a present. She had thought about it all day and hadn't been able to come up with anything.

The group sat by the fire for many hours, singing Christmas carols, exchanging gifts, and playing games. At midnight they decided it was time they get to bed, and everyone went upstairs and headed towards their respective bedrooms. As Ash walked down the hall towards his room, he passed by Misty's door. He looked inside to see her getting ready for bed.

"Pikachu!" (Stop spying!) yelled Pikachu. Misty heard this and turned around, blushing as she realized that Ash had been watching her.

"Ash!" she shrieked, "I could have been changing!"

"Well then maybe you should have closed the door!" he said stubbornly. Misty glared at him, then walked over and shut the door in his face.

"Merry Christmas!" she said angrily. Ash sighed at his predicament. This was not a good way to end the night. Hopefully she would like his Christmas present to her. Or, what would be his present to her if he could ever figure out how to get to Cerulean City. He would stay up all night if he had to! He would figure this out!

Jessie, James, and Meowth all leaned back against the wall inside the Pokemon Center.

"Wow," said Meowth, "I never knowed snow could be so tasty!"

"Well, it is my mother's recipe!" Jessie declared proudly.

Team Rocket had just spent the last three hours stuffing themselves with Jessie's favorite meal - Snowgasbord. It had consisted of snow onigiri with snow sauce, sushi-snow rolls, snow potatoes with sour cream and soy sauce, and snow pudding for dessert.

"It was so nice to have a nice, cold, home cooked meal." James said as he yawned. "All that food's making me sleepy."

"Snowgasbord can do that to you." Jessie said tiredly. She leaned her head onto James's shoulder, and began to snore.

"Goodnight, Jessica."

"Goodnight yous two." Meowth purred as he curled up on the ground.

The next morning Ash awoke in a great mood, albeit extremely exhausted. At about 3 o'clock last night, after much thinking, help from Pikachu, and lots of cookies (to help him stay awake, of course) Ash had finally come up with a solution. He got up and changed into his normal clothing, then he and Pikachu went downstairs to the kitchen, where Misty, Brock, and Delia were eating breakfast.

"Hey sleeping beauty." Misty taunted. "Someone must've been up late last night." Ash rubbed his eyes and sat down, ignoring her comment.

"I saw that your light was still on last night at 1." his mother added. "What were you doing?"

"I was just working on something." Ash replied slyly. Then he stuffed some food in his mouth to avoid any further questions.

After breakfast, Ash decided it was time to give Misty her present. "Hey, Mist. Come with me real fast." He grabbed her hand and ran up the stairs with her. When they reached the window at the end of the hall, he stopped and opened it.

"Ash, what are we doing?" Misty asked, very confused at this point.

"Look outside." Misty looked and saw that the snow was up to the window where they were standing.

"Okay... What am I looking at?"

"Well, the snow is piled up all the way to the window. And with the amount we got, it should be pretty hard packed." Ash climbed out the window and onto the giant snow drift. And he was right! The snow was packed down enough that he could stand on top of it! "Come on out, Misty!" Misty gingerly climbed through the window and walked to where Ash was standing.

"What are we doing out here?"

Instead of answering her, he yelled "Go, Lapras!" and threw a Pokeball.

"Ash, I don't understand what we're doing."

"Remember when we were on Mikan Island, and I had to do those contests with Cissy? Well, I figured if I could ride Lapras's ice beam on the water, we could do the same thing again now on the snow, all the way to Cerulean City! It would probably be even faster than walking!" Ash explained, then looked over at Misty. She had teared up and was currently beaming at Ash.

"You did this for me?"

"Yeah, of course. I know how much it meant to you to see your sisters today, so I figured it out."

"Man, that must have been really hard for you. All that thinking!"

"Hey! You have to be nice to me! Or you're staying here!"

"You could never leave me behind." Misty declared flirtaciously.

Ash blushed, and unable to think of anything else to say, just agreed with her. "You're right. Let's go!"

They climbed on Lapras's back, and prepared for the ride. "Lapras! Ice beam!" he yelled. Lapras opened her mouth, where a spinning blue ball appeared. She shot it out in front of them, and a path of ice appeared across the snow. Lapras jumped up onto it and pushed herself along with her flippers. As they slid across the ice they began to pick up speed, eventually going faster than a car! They sped towards Cerulean City, laughing and talking as they went.

When team Rocket awoke from their naps, they decided they had to get out of the Pokemon Center. They were all starving (because, believe it or not, Snowgasbord doesn't really fill you up all that well), cold, and sick of being stuck in the same building. They climbed up to the second story, opened up a window, and looked out. On the outskirts of the town they saw a small restaurant on a hill that was open!

"James! We're saved!" cried Jessie happily. All three Rocket members began to push and shove trying to get out of the open first. They all managed to push themselves through at the same time, but because were so tangled up, they feel onto the ground in a heap. Meowth was the first to get up, and immediately started running towards the restaurant. He looked behind him at Jessie and James, and a little ways behind them saw ASh and Misty sitting on Lapras's back, about to leave the town.

"Hey! It's two of the twoips!" he yelled, pointing. Jessie and James jumped up and spun around to see Lapras take off down her ice road. "Get em!"

"No, Meowth!" James said, grabbing him before he could get any closer to Ash and Misty. "Just look at the two of them. They're adorable. And we've been waiting for the to get together for years!"

"It's so obvious that they love each other. Maybe this will be their chance. I mean, just look at them." Jessie gestured to Misty's arms, which were fastened tightly around Ash's middle.

"You're right..." admitted Meowth. Then he scratched James's face and jumped down into the snow. "But _I'm _gonna be the first one to that restaurant!"

After about an hour of sledding along the ice, Misty realized they had almost reached their destination. At this point Lapras was going quite fast, and it was hard for Ash and Misty to talk over the wind.

"We're getting close to Cerulean!" Misty yelled to Ash, as she held on to him tightly around his stomach. "We need to slow down."

Lapras wasn't pushing anymore, but they had picked up so much speed on their journey that they were going much too fast. Lapras put her fins down onto the ice to try and stop them, but they weren't slowing down quickly enough. Cerulean got closer and closer, and lapras was hardly slowing down at all. They rode over edge of the city limits, passing by the roofs of houses, and getting closer and closer to the gym.

"This isn't working!" Ash yelled frantically. "Lapras! Jump off the ice!" The Pokemon leaped off the track she had been making, and fell headfirst into the snow. Because Ash and Misty hadn't been holding onto anything, they both flew off of Lapras's back and crashed into a snowdrift 10 feet away. Ash landed first, but Misty landed soon after, right on top of him.

"Owwwwwwwww." Ash moaned, body aching from the impact and Misty hitting him.

"Oh my god, Ash, are you okay?" She scrambled off of him and pulled him up out of the snow. "I'm so, so sorry. I couldn't control where I landed, I swear!"

"It's okay Misty, I'm fine." ASh assured her. He stood up, holding his back, and then stretched. Misty heard a loud pop coming from his spine, which couldn't be good, but Ash didn't seem to notice. He ran over to Lapras and hugged her neck. "Thank you so much for your help." He looked her over, and nothing seemed to be wrong, so he pulled out a Pokeball. "You did great. Have a nice rest. Return!" Then he turned to Misty. "Ready?" She nodded, and they walked up to the gym. The first floor was completely hidden, but the living room was on the second floor. They walked over to that window, and could see Lily, Daisy, and Violet sitting inside. Misty smiled and knocked on the glass separating them. All three of her sisters spun around in their seats, and immediately broke into grins. Violet ran up to the window and threw it open as fast as she could, then swooped her younger sister into a hug.

"Misty!" the other two squealed and ran over to see her. They helped her and Ash in the window, and then sat both of them down in front of the fire to warm up.

"So, Daisy asked, "like, how did you and your boyfriend, like, get here?"

"For the last time, he's not my boyfriend!" Misty yelled.

"For the last time?" Lisy teased, "Does that mean next time we see you-?"

"No!" Misty face was red with embarrassment and anger at this point, and Lily went quiet.

"Sorry sis." Violet said. "We're just kidding. But like, really, how did you get here?"

"We rode here on Ash's Lapras." Misty explained. "It was genius!" Ash blushed at her remark, and looked away from her sisters' smirking faces.

"Well, Runt, we're like, so glad you're here." Lily said, as sweetly as she could manage.

"Sorry to interrupt," Ash started, "but I'm actually gonna head home. I really want to spend today with my mom." and then as an afterthought, "And Brock, of course." Misty wasn't happy to see him go, but she understood how he felt.

"You know what? You two say goodbye. We three," Daisy said, gesturing to Lily, Violet, "have to go downstairs for a minute to like... check on the Pokemon. Yeah."

"What do you mean? We don't have t-" Lily started, until she was elbowed in the ribs by Violet, who shot her a look saying 'Just go with it!'

"Ohhhhh. Right. Pokemon." Lily said. "Let's go." The three older sisters giggled as they walked

out of the room and towards the stairs leading down to the main area of the gym.

"Well, uh, I guess I'll just-" Ash started, but was cut off by Misty.

"Wait! Thank you so much for helping me get home. It means so much to me. And... I still have a present for you." Ash brightened up at this.

"Really? What is it?" Misty just blushed and moved closer to him. "Mist? What are you-" He didn't get to finish his question, because at that moment Misty leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. It only lasted a second, but Ash decided it was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. As soon as Misty pulled away, a blush prominent on her cheeks, Ash grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him. "I liked your present." he said nervously, but in a way that you could tell he was barely containing his excitement. And then he kissed her again.

Misty put her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist. They stayed like that for a while, until Ash finally pulled away and smiled at his best friend.

"I have to go now. But as soon as the snow goes back down, Brock and I will head straight here. And then, if you want... we could make this a more common occurrence?" he asked nervously.

Misty kissed him one last time, then replied "Yes, please!" They moved away from each other, both sporting huge smiles on their faces, extremely pleased at what had just happened. Ash went to the window, opened it and climbed out.

"Bye, Ash! See you soon."

"Bye, Misty." he said and started to close the window. He got it halfway down and then stopped, and popped his head back inside.

"Hey Mist?"

"Yes, Ash?"

"I love you."


End file.
